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Synonyms

kibble

1 American  
[kib-uhl] / ˈkɪb əl /

verb (used with object)

kibbled, kibbling

  1. to grind or divide into particles or pellets, as coarse-ground meal or prepared dry dog food.

noun

  1. grains or pellets resulting from a kibbling process.

kibble 2 American  
[kib-uhl] / ˈkɪb əl /

noun

British.

  1. an iron bucket used in mines for hoisting ore.

kibble 1 British  
/ ˈkɪbəl /

verb

  1. (tr) to grind into small pieces

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. ground meal formed into pellets and used as pet food

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
kibble 2 British  
/ ˈkɪbəl /

noun

  1. a bucket used in wells or in mining for hoisting

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of kibble1

First recorded in 1780–90; origin uncertain

Origin of kibble2

First recorded in 1665–75, kibble is from the German word Kübel pail, vat

Explanation

Kibble is dry pet food. If your dog is sitting next to her dish and looking up at you with big, mournful eyes, she wants you to give her some kibble. You might be more likely to call kibble "dog food" or "cat food" — or even "guinea pig food." It's an all-purpose term for any kind of meal or feed that's formed into hard pellets, and it's a very common type of food for feeding pets and livestock. This word dates from around 1955, from a now uncommon verb meaning "to grind or chop coarsely."

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I knew it would be way more expensive than dry kibble.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Sykes gives her indoor cat, Freckles, regular kibble exclusively.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2025

I then fed my dog kibble containing seaweed extract that most likely came from China and fish oil that was probably from Peru.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 26, 2024

Long-term possibilities could include distributing polar bear kibble, but Dr. Derocher said that it wasn’t possible to sustain a subpopulation that way indefinitely.

From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2024

He thought of the brimming comfort of his kibble bowl, the pleasure of Peter’s hand-fed treats and the ultimate reward: peanut butter.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.